SECRETS OF ELVENDALE II

CHAPTER XIII

"WHAT DO YOU WANT? I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY, JUST SPIT IT OUT."
The tall elf whom had opened the door asked, looking annoyed. She was imposingly tall, and shadowed the group of friends. The elf crossed her arms, taking a sweeping glance at the group before she started to hold the door to close it.

"Are you one of those stupid con elves who I hear are taking to walking around Lava Fields and disturbing the residents? If so, kindly go away- I don't want to buy anything." The elf pointed out, and ran her fingers through her fiery red hair, which was tangled, and fell down in curly waves.

"Well, if you are Vuur-" Emily started, "Then Johnny Baker just wants us to check on you since you haven't gone to his bakery for a few days."

The elf's eyes narrowed in suspicion, before laughing loudly. "Ah! Johnny- well just tell him I'm not feeling so hot, if ya get what I mean..." Tears were starting to roll down the elf's cheeks, and all of a sudden her face contorted and she sniffed, before she slammed the door in their faces.

"Just go away! I'm useless anyways, so Johnny doesn't need to care about me!" A muffled yell could be heard from behind the thick door, and then nothing at all.

"Well- good news. We can tell Johnny that Vuur is alive, bad news, she's not doing great." Naida recounted, and turned to Sophie. "What if Vuur has lost her fire too?" The water elf asked, worry and concern swirling in the depths of her eyes. A murmur of worry swept over the friends, and they, too, were worried about the state of the elf.

Suddenly, the door swung open again, but instead of the fire elf, they were met with a petite air elf with dark indigo hair tied into a messy bun, stray strands of hair sticking out. Dark circles were prominent under her tired eyes, which almost closed completely every now and then. The elf lay upon the doorframe, looking close to falling asleep on the porch.

"Do you need anything? I don't need people bothering my wife when her magic's fucked up." The air elf said harshly, as she cast a sweeping glance at the group on her porch. She had a single, petite hand in the doorknob, and was ready to slam the door shut again when Azari spoke up.

"Well- ma'am, not to bother you but-" Azari stuttered out, before taking a deep breath and composing herself. She looked straight into the elf's eyes and continued.

"We went to Johnny's because we wanted to get some baked goods but his magic isn't working properly, and it turns out mine, coincidentally, isn't too."

Azari told, as the group awkwardly smiled in silence, unsure what to do while Azari explained the situation.

"And since uh- Vuur is his best friend, and he hasn't seen her in two weeks, he was kinda worried about her, and sent us to check up on her."

"But it seems that she's sick, so we will just go back to Johnny's and tell him the news, we won't bother you anymore and-"

"Wait. You and Johnny lost your fire too?"

Azari's recount was cut off as the air elf leaned forward in concern, her brow furrowed.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" Farran asked, clearly worried, and the others echoed his question. The air elf heaved a sigh, and slumped down onto the porch, sitting down with a defeated look in her eyes.
The door slammed close of its own accord, leaving the elf outside on her porch.

"It's just that- she had a fever the past two weeks, we knew it would happen as there was a new flu going around, but just when she got better, her fire was snuffed." The air elf said, and leaned against the closed door.

"She couldn't summon, not even a single flame as so much a spark. And, of course, she took it badly. After all, what good is an fire elf without their innate magic? Even the weakest fire elves can make a flame, or a tiny spark dance across their palms. And so I have had to watch my wife sink further and further into despair these past three days, and it hurts to see that's she's suffering."

The elf smiled weakly, as she stood up, brushing down her indigo dress, and reached for the doorknob.

"It's nice to know that Vuur has friends who care- and you don't even know her and are willing to go the extra mile to ask after her."

The elf turned and the door clicked open.

"Thanks, and if there's any way you can fix this, I hope you do. After all, I heard what you did with the Goblin King, and the extraordinary efforts of Human Emily to keep peace amongst us. I truly am grateful."

"Wait- but, miss!" Emily called out, in hopes of asking her a question, but the elf simply turned her head and gave a soft smile.

"Call me Kaze, and I really do have to go. The soup isn't going to warm itself, after all."

And she stepped back into the house, and the red oak door slammed shut again.